Spread-spectrum is a useful technique for many applications, including spread-spectrum telecommunications and spread-spectrum clock generation in synchronous digital systems containing microprocessors.
Spread-spectrum telecommunication, accomplished by employing frequency hopping and the like, may be employed to reduce interference and noise, and to improve privacy in confidential communications.
Spread-spectrum clock generation may be employed to reduce electro-magnetic interference (EMI). A fixed-frequency clock may have a narrow frequency spectrum with a high peak frequency spectral density. However, with spread-spectrum clock generation, the clock signal frequency spectrum is spread so that the total energy of the clock signal is distributed over a wider frequency range, reducing the energy at the peak carrier frequency. This in turn may reduce EMI.